1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to systems developed for securing heavy objects for transport, and particularly to a tiedown system using a single tensile member (cable, etc.) to secure an object, particularly an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) or similar load, at its forward and rearward ends atop a truck bed, trailer, or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
The necessity of securing cargo immovably upon or in a carrier (ship, truck, wagon, etc.) has been known for ages. As a result, innumerable systems have been developed in the past for loading and securing articles in or upon a vehicle for carriage and transport. These earlier tiedown systems generally include a relatively large number of ropes, cables, chains, or other tensile members secured to a like number of anchor points on the cargo and on the carrier. A separate but related class of devices comprises various systems for moving a large and/or heavy object onto or into a carrier, i.e., winches and the like.
An example of such devices and systems is found in German Patent Publication No. 10,333,482, published on Feb. 10, 2002. This reference describes (according to the drawings and English abstract) a flatbed truck having an extending front suspension for lowering the rear of the truck to facilitate loading a trailer thereon. The trailer is pulled onto the flatbed by a winch located at the front of the flatbed, and secured to the flatbed by a series of wheel chocks and lateral straps.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus, a tiedown system solving the aforementioned problems is desired.